The Squire Room remains a Redding staple

Redding’s iconic bartender Frank Nazarirod has been working at the Squire Room since 1970 when it was one of the area’s most popular restaurants.

Your friend gets a certain look in his eye: "How about the Squire?"

You smile and check your watch. It'll either be 1 a.m. or 3:43 p.m., and you reply, "Sure, let's do it."

Walk into the ancient joint at the east end of a brick building on Tehama Street and your eyes will have to adjust. What's not darkness will soon become shades of orange and red, all glowing off the bottles.

The Squire Room

Address:1336 Tehama St. in Redding

Phone: 224-5848

Hours: 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Saturday

It'll probably be Redding's iconic bartender Frank Nazarirod serving you (or perhaps his brother Fred). Frank's been working at the Squire Room since 1970 when it was one of the area's most popular restaurants. Old-timers fondly remember that earlier era when it was all coats and ties and fine steaks.

The place is a nostalgia trip for sure. Almost nothing has changed in four decades, except the addition of a couple flatscreens and a modern jukebox. Nobody seems to want any change, including the younger late-night crowd who simply "love Frank," even if they weren't born when he had 20 years into the place. A Record Searchlight profile, mounted on the wall but difficult to read due to darkness, chronicles Nazarirod's story, including his origins of being from the northern Iranian city of Rasht.

The lounge, owned by Beverly Gunari (and the late Jim Gunari), has gone through a few cycles of popularity. These days it's a mixture of age groups, trending younger the later at night it gets. It can still get packed on Friday and Saturday nights, and also catches some business on Mondays when other downtown establishments are closed.

Frank's well-known concoctions include Jolly Ranchers (peach and watermelon Schnapps, vodka, cranberry juice and grenadine) and white Russians (Kahula, vodka and cream). Even when the place is packed and loud, he has an amazing propensity for hearing your order and keeping it straight amid a dozen other requests.

For a time it was the late musician Slam Buckra's hangout. His song "Frank" recounts the experience of "getting wired at the Squire," while "Frank was looking mighty proud."

I remember meeting Slam at the Squire for a couple of rounds of white Russians. It's a pleasant personal memory from a place that holds nostalgia very well.